The Spiritual Dimensions of Philanthropy was the subject of a public lecture on 1st May by Denis Tracey at 'Armagh', the Initiatives of Change centre in Melbourne.
Tracey is Deputy Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Philanthropy and Social Investment at the Swinburne University of Technology. He is also the author of two books, Family Business; the Volatile Mix of Love, Power and Money, and Giving it Away; In Praise of Philanthropy.
Speaking to a diverse audience of about 50, Tracey first drew on the his own Christian tradition to illustrate the different reasons that have been given to encourage people to give, ranging from the negative – fear of punishment (earthly or in the afterlife), conformity, peer pressure – to the positive reasons of compassion, love and spiritual growth.
Tracey noted that the practice of giving was encouraged in all spiritual traditions – for example it is one of the Five Pillars of Islam – and in Australia it was the Jewish community who were by far the most generous in proportion to their population size. But philanthropy was not limited to the religious, and at present the two biggest givers in terms of money are both agnostics – Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. For some individuals and institutions, philanthropy could be a way to build positive public relations or a lasting memorial (e.g. Carnegie Hall, named after its sponsor Andrew Carnegie). But Buffett had taken a more pragmatic view, choosing instead to give the bulk of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation on the grounds that it was doing a good job.
Philanthropy was not the preserve of the rich. Everybody could be a philanthropist and there were other forms of giving apart from money, including volunteering time. Despite the varieties of motives for and sizes of giving, Tracey refused to pass judgement on individual acts, saying that it came down to a person's individual conscience.